Feeling the Flow
by PikaScootaloo
Summary: When Yuma loses his soul to Kite, he's somehow transported to Equestria as a pony. There's just one problem; he doesn't remember anything. If you like this story, check out Rainstone's "A Game Comes to Equestria"! Seriously, I really want people to check it out. That's the whole reason I'm writing this story in the first place!
1. It Begins

**Before I start this, I want to make one thing clear. I'm only writing this so I can tell you guys about Rainstone's fanfic "A Game Comes to Equestria". If you like this story, you'll love Rainstone's! And thank you, Rainstone, for letting me write this story.**

**And remember, if you decide to read "A Game Comes to Equestria", review it! I'm sure Rainstone will greatly appreciate it!**

**Now let's get started with the first chapter.**

* * *

"I summon forth Photon Cerberus!"

The hellhound was summoned, its face twisted with anger. Next to it was a large dragon, its expression being the same. Though, the most intimidating thing of them all was the duelist behind his two monsters; the number hunter Kite.

Both Yuma and Astral were thinking the same thing; for Kite's Galaxy Eyes to attack. By having the monster attack, Yuma's trap card, Mirror Mail, would be activated. When an opponent wages battle, Mirror Mail could be used to match the player's monster's attack points with the attacking monster, which would mean both monsters would be equally matched. Since a number card could only be defeated by another number card, Yuma's Utopia wouldn't be destroyed, and Galaxy Eyes would be.

Their hearts were beating like drums. Mirror Mail was their last chance; if it failed, they'd lose, and both Yuma and Astral would pay with their lives. Or, in Yuma's case, with his soul.

In the suspense, Yuma almost missed what Kite had said.

"And when Cerberus is let off its leash, your trap cards are put _on it_!" Kite's voice boomed as Photon Cerberus threw its chains on Yuma's trap.

"_Oh no!_" said Astral, his eyes wide with fear.

"So then Mirror Mail won't be able to active?!" Yuma asked a bit hurriedly.

"That's right," Kite said, his voice dripping with malice and satisfaction. "That means your last-ditch effort to beat me has failed, _and now you're all out of moves_!"

Astral stood floating in the air, his entire body frozen. "_He knew_," he gasped out. "Somehow he knew. He has out-dueled us both."

Kite made a fist. "And now your soul and your number cards," he clenched his fist even further. "**_will be mine_**! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, prepare to attack!"

The dragon's eyes started to glow. The attack was imminent.

"Ahh!" yelled Yuma, half of him frozen with fear, the other have simply unable to comprehend the matter at hand. He turned his shaking head to Astral. "Is this it?!" he said, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

"...I'm afraid so," said Astral simply. "Farewell."

Yuma let out a small gasp that could only be described as one with fear, anticipation, anger, and...

Hope.

He grasped his golden key tightly. No matter what, he could never give up hope. Even when facing the end, he could never let his hope waver. A glance at Astral told him that he too knew that.

Both friends were ready for the end.

"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" yelled Kite. The dragon, in response, readied its attack. "Go, Photon Stream of Destruction!"

The bright blast blinded both of them. The annoyance of the light was quickly replaced by the pain it brought. Searing pain, to be exact. They felt like they were on fire, like their lives were being blasted away by the blast.

After what seemed like hours but was really five seconds, the blast subsided and Yuma and Astral were pushed by the force of the aftermath that followed. They wheeled in the air before landing rather harshly. Then, Yuma's life points was shown and beeped to zero.

Yuma, exerting a great deal of effort, pushed himself up only a foot from the ground. His arms wobbled like crazy, begging him to just lay back down. But he wasn't giving up just yet, even after the battle was over. Yuma's determination alone allowed him to turn his head. There, he saw Astral doing exactly what he was doing; willing himself to continue. The two made eye contact, and Yuma was able to breathe out three words:

"I'm sorry Astral."

Astral gave a small but noticeable nod. Right after, he collapsed. Yuma could clearly see Astral's body fading. Though he kept telling himself to look away, he could not. He was forced by his self to watch his friend fade away into nothing.

A single teardrop came from Astral and fell to the ground. Then, he faded completely.

Seeing his friend now gone, Yuma couldn't help but collapse as well. The last thing he saw before falling into unconsciousness was Tori, frozen in time. Too drained out for words, he gave a silent apology to her as well, and then fainted.

Kite smirked. He had won all those number cards that pesky kid had. He was that much closer to helping his brother.

The number hunter strode over to the limp body of his opponent. Reaching his hand out, a large sphere of light rose from Yuma, a sphere much larger than the other number cards and souls Kite had taken. His guess was that it was bigger because Yuma had more number cards. The sphere floated over to Kite and it evaporated in his hand.

Or, at least, it _would have_, but it seemed unwilling to be sucked in.

He raised an eyebrow. "Odd."

Just then, the sphere started to change. Little cracks formed on it, the cracks being much duller than the glow that illuminated from it. One could say that the dullness was pitch black, like pure darkness, as if it were trying to cover up the light. It seemed too silly to be true, hadn't Kite been seeing it right in front of his eyes.

The sphere then shone brightly, obscuring his vision for a brief moment. Once it dimmed, he noticed it felt... lighter, and it finally absorbed into him. This was strange. He would have to have Orbital 7 investigate on it later.

But for now, he would have to depart. Once Orbital 7 turned into a motorcycle, he rode off, and let time go on again.

Tori finally fell to the ground. "YUMA!" she yelled as she sat up, reaching a hand out as the truck passed by. What she saw made her heart lurch. Yuma was unconscious, his body sprawled in a rather disturbing way. She ran up to him, and Tori almost gagged.

Yuma didn't seem to be hurt physically, but he seemed worn out. His hair had become grey, even the red parts. His bangs sat listlessly on his hair instead of bursting out like it always did. He didn't even respond to the rain pounding in his face.

Tori bent down and lifted up the top of his body.

"Wake up," she mumbled, shaking him slightly in a desperated effort. "_W-Wake up_!"

She couldn't understand it. He was breathing, albeit barely, and it didn't look like the truck ran over him. So...

"_Why aren't you waking up?!_" Tori pleaded. She didn't realize it due to the rain, but she was crying. Tears flowed out of her like there was no tomorrow. In defeat, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Please wake up..."

* * *

He felt nothing. Nothing for a good long... well, he didn't _know_ how long. All that he knew was that it was long.

He couldn't feel anything. He couldn't see anything, nor could he hear, smell, or taste. His five sense, as well as his sense of self, was torn apart from him, yet he knew that it was still there. He might have been able to move, he might not have. Hell, he might not have even been connected to a body.

It seemed like there was nothing. And yet, there was everything.

Then, for a short period, he _was_ nothing. He would've panicked had he acknowledged that it was something bad. Or, rather, if he was _able_ to panic.

A tickling sensation brushed passed him somehow, and he felt... invigorated. Like it was an energy boost. Then, just as quick as the tickling had appeared, a sharp pain went right through him. He wanted to scream, and yet he couldn't. He wanted to double over in pain, and yet he couldn't. He just wanted the pain to stop.

And it did.

He blinked, momentarily dizzy as he was accustoming to his senses returning. Lifting his head, he searched his surroundings. There was... a forest. A dark forest. Hardly any light came within it. The area seemed endless, like there was no escape. And then there was the tree in front of him. A tree with a frightening face.

"Gah!" he yelled, jumping back. It wasn't fear that made him yell out. Rather, it was the surprise of it. He stood back up, his four legs wobbling beneath him, and he approached the tree. He sneered. What kind of being would be afraid of a _tree_? Sure, it had a face on it, but who'd be afraid of a face?

A melody rang out, and his ears perked up. He turned to the direction that the tune came from. There were six quadrupeds fifteen-something yards away. A pink one with _insanely_ poofy hair started jumping around, singing a song.

"_When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooown_"

The purple one spoke up in a rather deadpan manner. "Tell me she's not."

"_The darkness and the shadows they would always make me frooooown_"

"She is," answered the white one.

"_I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw_"

"_But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all_"

"Then what is?" asked the cyan one, and the pink one answered literally right after the last word left the other's mouth.

"_She said Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall_"

"_Learn to face your feeears_"

"_You'll see that they can't hurt you_"

"_Just laugh to make them disappear_"

He couldn't help but tap his forelegs to the rhythm. He was liking this song.

The pink one approached on of the trees and laughed, "Ha! Ha! HA!" Miraculously, the face on the tree disappeared, the other five gasping in shock.

"_Sooooooo_"

"_Giggle at the ghosties!_"

The yellow one approached the tree and laughed halfheartedly. It was still enough for the face to disappear, and the yellow one squealed.

"_Guffaw at the grossly_"

The cyan one, on the contrary, gave a loud, booming laugh, as if the best joke in the world was told. Naturally, the tree's face vanished too.

"_Crack up at the creepy_"

The white one, meanwhile, was more elegant in her laughter. Not too much, not too little. Just the right amount of laughter. The face on the tree had even seemed to smile with her before vanishing.

"_Woof it up with the weepy_"

The orange one with the cowboy hat jumped up in the air, proclaiming her laughter to the world. Of course, the face disappeared.

"_Chortle at the kooky_"

The purple one just giggled, but it was enough to make the face nonexistent.

"_Snortle at the spooky_"

It was the pink one's turn, and she didn't even need to laugh (if she did, it'd ruin the rhythm of the song); a smile was all it took to destroy that nasty face. Then she took a deep [i]deep[/i] breathe.

"_And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna-! Hahahaha! heh..._" She wiped a tear from her eyes. Another deep breathe...

"_Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!_"

That did it; all the rest of the faces disappeared, even the one in front of him, giving him a slight shock.

The six creatures fell to the ground, laughing as they sat in a circle. The pink one, naturally, was the last to stop laughing.

_Maybe they could help me get out of here?_ he thought. It was painfully clear to see that this forest wasn't a place anyone would actually want to_ live_ in. He approached the six, craning his head down to make eye contact with them.

"So songs make you guys laugh?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

The cyan one sat up, as did the rest of them. "Not really; only Pinkie's songs." She motioned to the pink pony who sang the song, and she responded by beaming a bright smile.

The purple one stared intently at him, making him rather uncomfortable. "Uh..." It was obvious that she was trying to say something, but his blatant confusion on his face made him, well, confused on what it was.

"Yer mane's mighty silly," said the orange one with a distinct western accent, pointing a hoof at her mane.

"_Applejack!_" scolded the purple one.

"Oh c'mon, you were 'bout to say the same thing."

"But I'm _trying_ not to be blunt about it!"

He reached up and felt the hair on his head, and no sooner did he withdraw. It was... spiky. He couldn't for the life of him imagine what it looked like.

The white one pouted. "It looks rather... unique. But if I had my brush and a mane curler with me, I could _definitely_ make it into a _masterpiece_."

He frowned. "Mane?"

"But of course! How could you _not _know what a mane is?"

"Rarity..." said the purple one. "Maybe he _doesn't_ know?"

"I refuse to believe that! Any self respecting pony would know what a _mane_ is!" the white one, Rarity, remarked.

For some reason, he felt hurt. He knew that this Rarity wasn't purposely trying to insult him, but he was insulted nonetheless. It was like someone took a jab at his heart.

The purple one gave a small glare to Rarity, and them turned to him. "Why don't you know what a mane is?"

"I just... don't."

"Do you know why you're out here?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. It was then that he realized he didn't remember _anything_. Or, rather, anything about him. He knew what trees were. He knew what a brush was. But a mane? That left him clueless. And so did anything about how he even came to the forest. Did he...

Did he even know his own name?

No, he didn't, much to his dismay. He finally answered the purple one. "No."

The purple one stood up and bit her lip, contemplating. Then, the yellow one, who had been quiet the entirety of the time, spoke up from where she sat. "Twilight... Maybe he has amnesia?"

The purple one, whose name seemed to be Twilight, nodded to the yellow one. "It'd certainly explain this." She turned back to him. "How much don't you remember?"

"...A lot?" he guessed. A question dawned on him. "So... just what kind of creatures _are_ you guys?"

"He can't be faking," said the cyan one. "That's a question only complete idiots or amnesac... amnesic... what ever, ponies would ask."

"_Wow, don't I feel special_," he said completely deadpan. "So you're ponies?"

Twilight nodded. "And you are too."

He blinked. He was? Odd, he didn't feel like it. He looked down. Four legs, four hooves, same stature, though his body was a different color. He couldn't exactly _name_ the color, but it looked like a very diluted orange. Then there was his mane, as they called it. He couldn't see it, but judging by the reactions from the others, it was very weird.

The pink one, Pinkie, jumped in the air around everyone (everyone had stood up by that point). "Yay! We've got a new friend! He'll help us in our super special journey! With the seven of us, we won't be losing losers! YAAAAA-" She stopped in midair right next to him. "Heeeeey..." She landed and inspected his flank, much to his dismay. "What's your cutie mark supposed to be?"

He looked at his flank. On there was a symbol of some... item. He couldn't place the name, but it looked like it was half of some sunglasses, to where it could fit over one eye. It was white and yellow, and it seemed so familiar, it frustrated him to know that he couldn't remember it.

_It is vital that you remember._

His ears perked up and he looked around. What was that voice? It sounded... deep, yet reassuring. He was so sure it wasn't his imagination; it seemed too real for that. But there was no one there. He dismissed it for now, but he wouldn't forget it.

"What the hay's that thing?" Applejack asked.

"It's a cutie mark, DUH!" answered Pinkie.

"Ah _mean_ what's his cutie mark 'sposed ta be?"

"Oh." Pinkie had stopped jumping, not even realizing that she had continued before. "I 'unno. Let's ask...! Oh my gosh!" She turned to him. "We didn't even get your name!"

He frowned. He didn't _know_ his name.

Twilight was smart enough to realize that. "You don't know your name, do you?"

He shook his head, visibly down. It was... odd, feeling sad. He didn't know why, of course, but it didn't seem right. Though, how was he to control his sorrow when he actually felt sad?

Pinkie, yet again, started jumping up and down. "That doesn't matter! He's the only stallion here; we can just call him 'him'!"

Twilight spluttered. "Pinkie, that's degrading!"

He spoke up. "I don't really mind... so long as I know everyone's name." He knew it'd be awkward later on if he didn't know all of their names. Yelling out 'that pony!' wouldn't be very nice nor clear, now would it?

The yellow one stood next to Twilight. "I'm Fluttershy, this is Twilight Sparkle..."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" spouted out Pinkie. "And the blue one's Rainbow Dash!"

"You know it!" agreed Rainbow. She motion to Rarity. "The drama queen's Rarity," She motioned to Applejack. "and that one's Applejack."

Pinkie, finally done with jumping, ran up to him at a swift speed. She put a hoof on his chest. "And you're him!"

He laughed. It felt good to laugh.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Well... I think we wasted enough time. Let's get going."

"Going?" he asked. "Where?"

"I'll explain along the way."

"You mean... I'm coming too?"

Everyone around him laughed. "Of course," answered Twilight. "We wouldn't just leave you alone out here, now would we?"

He laughed too. "Ha ha, right! Well then, let's go!" He led the way. The wrong way, that is.

Rainbow Dash flew after him and brought him back to the group. "Try going the _other_ way."

More laughter from everyone as they all ventured onward.

* * *

Unbeknownst to him, a presence was watching him. This presence was definitely _not_ a pony; this was more humanoid, and it seemed to radiate an unearthly glow. One eye was golden, the other was clear. One might call this... an _astral_ spirit.

Of course, this was Astral. And right now, Astral was feeling sad.

He had awoken much earlier than Yuma had, and had come to the realization that Yuma had be transformed as a pony. At least it was a better alternative than losing his soul. But it made Astral wonder... why? Why had Yuma been placed here, with his soul in tact but in another body? Why had Astral arrived at the same place? Why were they _there_?

When he saw Yuma awaken, he tried talking to him, and had come to yet another realization that Yuma couldn't hear him at all. A thousand questions had rolled in his head pertaining to as of why they couldn't communicate.

Then he saw Yuma's interactions with the ponies, and his third realization made his heart sink the most; he realized Yuma had no recollection of who he was or of his past.

And _then_ he realized the potential answer to his second realization; he noticed that Yuma didn't have his golden key. The key Yuma's father gave him years ago. The key that was Astral's home.

The key that would allow them to communicate.

Then he got to wondering where the key was. He hadn't a clue as to how big this place was, so the key could be anywhere. It could even be back in Heartland.

All the same, throughout Yuma's awakening, he had never gave up on trying to communicate. His efforts seemed to have worked; Yuma had responded to what Astral had said about the Duel Gazel cutie mark, how it was 'vital for him to remember'. There was hope. Small hope, but there was some nonetheless.

If Astral's short time with Yuma had taught him one thing, it was to never give up hope.

* * *

"I'm staaaarving," he moaned.

"Too bad," said an annoyed Rainbow Dash.

"Shouldn't you guys have packed food?"

"We _would_ have, but this was planned to be an overnight trip. And _you_ weren't planned to be coming, you know."

"Saying that isn't going to make me _not_ hungry," he replied in rebuttal.

Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration, and Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder. The two of them exchanged nods before Fluttershy turned to him. "Him, please, we're almost to where we need to be."

"I still don't get how a pony can be sent to the moon," he mumbled, now talking about the story the others had told him, which was supposedly why they were even _in_ the forest.

"Well believe it," mumbled Rainbow Dash.

Soon the seven of them reached a lake. There was no bridge or anyway to pass unless they either swam over or flew over.

"How are we going to cross this?" asked Pinkie. Suddenly, a cry was heard. "Huh?"

A large sea serpent burst from the water, causing everyone but him to jump in shock. This serpent didn't seem that scary to him. Besides, he noticed that its mustached had been torn off on one side. That seemed like a perfectly good excuse to cry, an albeit lame one.

"What a world, _what a world!_" cried the serpent.

Twilight was the first to recover from the shock. "Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?"

It simply shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this [i]tacky[/i] little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid!" It sobbed even louder.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh give me a break."

"That's what all the fuss 's about?" asked Applejack.

Rarity stepped up, glaring daggers at the two. "Why, of course it is! How _can_ you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such _lovely_ luminescent scales."

The serpent sniffed. "I know."

"And your _expertly_ coiffed mane."

"Oh, I know, I know."

"Your _fabulous_ manicure."

It gasped. "It's _so_ true!"

"And it's all _ruined_ without your beautiful mustache!"

The serpent hid its face. "I-It's true... I'm hideous!"

Rarity stomped her hoof to the ground. "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" She used her magic to pick off one of the serpent's scales.

It, of course, yelped. "What did you do that for?!"

"Rarity, what are you-" Twilight started, but was soon interrupted by the scale that came down right on Rarity's tail. No one could believe it; she had _willingly_ cut off her tail. Rarity connected her cut off tail to the torn off end of the serpent's mustache. It created a new, full mustache, despite the colors being off. But the serpent didn't seem to mind.

"Oh hohohoho!" the serpent moaned pleasantly. "My mustache! How _wonderful_!"

"You look smashing," was all Rarity said.

Twilight sniffed. "Oh Rarity, your beautiful tail..."

"It's fine, my dear," Rarity said with a small smile. "Short tails are in this season. Besides, it will grow back."

"So would the mustache..." mumbled Rainbow Dash.

The others were too busy admiring Rarity's generosity (and pitying her lost tail), but he noticed what the serpent was doing. "Hey guys..." he said, and pointed. "Look!"

The kind serpent had created a path using his back as stepping stones. Everyone behind him gasped in elation.

"We can cross now! Let's go!" said Twilight as the seven of them traveled across the serpent, most of them being sure to thank it (Rainbow and him were the only ones who didn't).

They walked for a much longer time, with him groaning a few times in impatience. Soon, they had arrived to the point where the ruins were in sight. There were less trees, but more fog. It would've been impossible to see the ruins had it not been so large.

"There it is, the ruins that hold the Elements of Harmony..." Twilight said in awe. "We made it!" She ran forward, eager to get there.

"Twilight, wait for us," said Applejack.

"We're almost there!" Without knowing it, Twilight had run off a cliff. Rainbow Dash immediately caught her and brought her back up.

"What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" Rainbow joked. They all looked out to where Twilight had fallen. There seemed to be a rope bridge, but it needed to be tied back on the other side.

Pinkie sighed. "Now what?"

Rainbow flew up. "Duh."

"Oh, yeah!"

Rainbow turned to him. "You coming or what?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"You're a pegasus too, you know."

He looked at his body. There were wings folded up. He hadn't even the slightest idea that they were even there. Carefully, he extended his wings and tested them out. Before long, he was flying just well enough to actually, well, _fly_.

"Yeaaaah," drawled Rainbow. "We c_ould_ take the time for you to brush up on flying, _or_ we could actually do something that gets us somewhere."

He glared, but ultimately followed her into the fog. The fog was really heavy. So heavy, that it felt like he was being weighed down, not to mention the fact that he could hardly see Rainbow Dash. _And_ not to mention that he was having a hard time flying. Every few seconds, he'd lose his balance and nearly fall to his doom.

Rainbow noticed this and sighed. She went back to where he was and crossed her forelegs together, somehow being impatiently patient for him to get his bearings. Another sigh, this time with more frustration, as he just wasn't making enough progress. "Look kid," she said. "What's it going to take to get you to actually _fly_?"

"Maybe if I had some _practice_, I _could_ fly," he scowled.

"Maybe you should have practiced while we were, I don't know, _trying to get across the lake_?"

"Maybe I didn't _know_ I could even fly until _two minutes ago_."

Rainbow Dash gave a "hmph" and turned away. "Since you won't be able to get over here, just stay there."

He got mad, for some reason. Maybe it was because he was being told he couldn't do what he wanted to do. He wanted to fly, and yet Rainbow was telling him he couldn't. This boiled anger inside of him. He_ could_ do it, _and_ he'd show her a thing or two.

He tried to fly again, but this time, he flew in a circle, up and down. Another try led him to dive downwards, but he thankfully flew back up. All his attempts never got him farther, but he'd keep trying.

Somehow, he knew he'd do best when he kept trying. And, like everything else, he didn't know why.

Rainbow Dash had made it to the end of the bridge easily. She landed and started to tie the ropes to the wooden poles. As she was doing so, a voice sent a shiver down her spine.

"Rainbow..."

She looked around, ready to fight. "Who's there?!" she demanded with much conviction.

"Rainbow..." the voice said again.

"I ain't scared of you!" she proclaimed as she dug one of her hooves into the ground. "Now show yourself!"

They obeyed, and it turned out to be three ponies. Or, rather, one pony leading two others. These ponies were covered in black outfits and dark mist was emitting from them.

"We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flier in Equestria..." hissed the leading pony.

"Who?" Rainbow asked rather dumbly.

"Why, you, of course."

"Really?!" She was surprised, though she quickly tried to mask that. "I mean... Oh yeah, me. Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? 'Cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, _ever_."

"No, Rainbow Dash," the hissing pony said. "We want _you_ to join us, The Shadowbolts. We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria. But first, we need a captain. The most magnificent-"

"Yep," she agreed. She _was_ magnificent.

"Swiftest-"

"Yes." Wasn't she just swift? Fastest flier meant swiftest.

"Bravest flier in all the land."

"Yes," she chuckled. "It's all true."

"We need _you_..." Was it just Rainbow, or did the pony seem slightly more threatening? It didn't matter to her.

"Woo hoo! Alright, sign me up! Just let me tie this bridge real quick and then we have a deal." She started for the rope, but the pony got _right up_ in her face, giving a real good shock.

"NO! It's them or us!"

The other five on the other side were waiting for Rainbow and him to tie the bridge. Twilight called out, "Rainbow! What's taking so long?!" She still didn't like calling him 'him'. It still seemed degrading.

Twilight tried her best to look through the fog, and when that failed, she used a bit of magic to illuminate the path. She first saw him trying (and failing) to fly over to the other end, and then she noticed Rainbow Dash. Or, rather, the ponies in front of Rainbow Dash. It looked like they were trying to offer her a deal. And there was a dark purple mist emitting from them.

Twilight's brain clicked back to the serpent: _Little cloud of purple smoke_

She gasped, and she yelled out, "Rainbow! Don't listen to them

Rainbow could definitely hear Twilight's plea.

The Shadowbolt leaned over to Rainbow even more, to the point where she could probably inhale the smoke that came off it. "Well?" the pony demanded.

"...You."

All six of them could hear Rainbow's answer loud and clear, and it seemed too horrible to be true.

Before the Shadowbolt could say anything else, Rainbow continued. "_Thank_ you for the offer, I mean. But I'm afraid I have to say no."

The Shadowbolts dissipated into the night sky and Rainbow tied the bridge together. She passed by him on the way, with him _still_ trying to fly over.

"See? I'd never leave my friends hanging," Rainbow said to her five friends on the other side, and they all crossed the bridge together. When they passed him, Twilight simply used her magic to levitate him over, with him being completely upset he wasn't able to do what he set out to do.

They all walked the rest of the way until they had finally made it to the ruins. Inside, there was a large room that contained stone spheres. He hadn't a clue what they were, but Twilight did. Those were the Elements of Harmony.

"Whoa nelly..." murmured Applejack, staring in awe. She nudged Twilight. "C'mon Twilight, isn't this what you've been waitin' for?"

She nodded and turned back to the Elements. "The Elements of Harmony... We've found them!"

Pinkie approached them, oddly carefully. "One two three four... Hey! There's only five!"

"Where's the sixth?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gave them the answer. "The book said: _when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed._"

He blinked. "So... What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight told him. "But I have an idea. Stand back, I don't know what'll happen." She was about to ready a spell when he interrupted.

"What's going on with your horn?" he asked, honestly puzzled.

Twilight gave a smile that said _interrupt-me-again-and-you'll-find-out_. "I'm using magic. Unicorns can use magic."

He gave a slight nod. Truth was, he didn't understand it that well, how a horn can allow a pony to use magic. Still, it was best not to question it. Who knows what would happen if one of those magic horns were preparing a spell at _him_? Then again, he did face unicorn magic just a little bit ago, when Twilight levitated him through the bridge. Perhaps he was overreacting.

Twilight prepared a spell on all five of the stones. The stones responded, but not in the way she had hoped. A flash of light enveloped the entirety of the ruins. When it faded, Twilight and the Elements were gone.

"Twilight!" they all yelled.

Fluttershy was hyperventilating. "What-What-What just happened?!"

Then they heard it; Twilight's voice. None of them knew what she said, but they did know that she was in the ruins in a different room.

Applejack looked around and only saw one door besides the entrance. "Come on every pony!" She led them all to the door.

He faltered at the door. A chill went down him spine. More curious than scared, he looked around. There was nothing that wasn't already that, though he _was_ only just skimming the area.

Something flashed in the corner of his eyes. He followed it, and it led him to... the wall. He grunted. Twilight could've been in trouble, and yet... something was keeping him here. _But there was nothing there_! In his frustration, he kicked the wall.

It sounded hollow.

He sat down to where he kicked. Hesitantly, he tapped the wall again. The hollow sound came again. He pushed around the wall, hoping to see some kind of fake or broken brick. His efforts proved useful, as a brick fell inside the wall with a thud. Soon, he had made many other bricks fall into the wall, making a hole large enough for him to take the bricks out. Inside the way, there was something that captivated him.

It was a key.

He didn't know how he came to that conclusion, seeing as how it was one weird key, but it was a key nonetheless. It seemed weird to him that the key was in perfect shape despite lots of those bricks falling on it, but he didn't dwell on that. He tried to pick it up with his hooves, but that failed. Then he used his wing, which worked well enough.

There was a somewhat thick piece of string that held it like a necklace or a pendant. He put it over his neck and smiled. He just knew that it was something that he needed. Why, he didn't know.

He stood back up and raced towards the doorway in an effort to reach the others. He soon _did_ reach them, but the sight of them surprised him. All six of them were facing a large mare (Nightmare Moon, he was guessing from what the others told him) with some necklaces attached to them (Twilight had a tiara). Twilight seemed to be in the middle of a big speech.

"The spirit of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!"

Nightmare Moon spluttered. "But you still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"

"But it _did_!" Twilight proclaimed. She turned to her five friends. "A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all..." She turned back to Nightmare Moon. "Are my friends!

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

With that, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all floated up in the air, the latter five's Elements reacting to Twilight. The power invigorated her as she became in sync with her five friends, friends that she knew would be with her for as long as she lived. Friends...

Some how, she sense him near the door, the pony that they had found in the forest.

Friends that would make even more friends. Because everyone needed friends.

Nightmare Moon was shocked that she was about to be defeated by the Elements. "NO!" she yelled.

Twilight opened her eyes; they were glowing a pure white as a bright rainbow came from the Element bearers and enveloped Nightmare Moon in a spiraling cocoon. One last scream from the evil mare came, until everything glowed bright.

The six ponies that had just defeated Nightmare Moon sat up, dazed.

"Ugh, my head..." moaned Rainbow.

"Everypony okay?" asked Applejack.

"Oh thank goodness," said Rarity to herself as she noticed her tail had been restored.

Fluttershy approached Rarity. "Why Rarity, it's so lovely."

"I know, I'll never part with it again!" she exclaimed, thinking she mean her tail.

"No, your necklace." She pointed to Rarity's necklace. "It looks just like your cutie mark."

"What?" She looked down at hers, then at Fluttershy's. "Ooh, so does yours!"

Fluttershy gasped.

Pinkie bounced around, shouting, "Look at mine! Look at mine!"

"_Aw yeah_!" said Rainbow Dash, admiring her necklace as well.

Twilight smiled knowing that her friends were all right. She glanced at him, and he seemed just as happy. Though it was quite peculiar that he was just staying near the door.

"Gee, Twilight!" said Applejack. "I thought you were just spoutin' a lot o' hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the Elements of Friendship."

A voice rang out to them. "Indeed you do."

It was then that they noticed a pony that was standing tall and upright over the hunched over Nightmare Moon. This pony was one everyone knew (save for him, of course), Twilight especially.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped.

Celestia gave her student a hug. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, I knew you could do it!"

Twilight stopped hugging. "But... you told me it was an old pony's tale."

The princess chuckled. "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was _you_ who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart." She turned to Nightmare Moon, except the villain didn't look so... villain-y. "Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!"

'Princess Luna' gasped.

Celestia kneeled down before the mare. "It has been a thousand years since I've seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."

Everyone, even him, shouted in shock. "_Sister_?!"

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia continued.

Luna hardly hesitated. She ran up to her elder sister and nuzzled her. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much big sister!"

"I've missed you too."

Pinkie was blubbering. Then she gasped. "Hey, you know what this calls for?! A PARTY!"

Celestia smiled, and she used her magic to teleport all nine of them to Canterlot, where a party seemed to be taking place already.

Everyone was having a blast. Pinkie was stuffing her face in treats, Fluttershy was making friends with some squirrels, and Rainbow was talking to the Wonderbolts. Or, rather, she _tried_ to. Applejack and Rarity seemed to just be making small talk with other ponies.

Twilight stood next to Celestia, visibly sad.

"Why so glum, my faithful student?" the princess asked with concern, though it didn't sound quite... sincere. "Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"

"That's just it..." Twilight sniffed. "Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends... I have to leave them."

Celestia smiled. "Spike, take a letter." Indeed, Spike was at the party as well. "_I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville._"

Twilight gasped, though it was drowned out by everyone's cheers. "O-Oh thank you Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!"

More cheering, and the Element bearers all got together in a group hug. Celestia turned to him, who was just sitting on one of the benches, rolling a pebble around. It was evident that he was bored out of his mind. She walked over.

"And you are sad because...?"

He turned to her to make sure that he was the one being address. Once he was sure about that, he turned back to the pebble and answered. "I didn't really do anything."

The princess gave a small chuckle. "You can't expect to be able to be the hero every time."

"Funny; I still expect that," he replied, his voice dripping sarcasm like it was venom.

"It's best to choose your battles," she told him with unsettling firmness. "Or you won't have a chance to _have battles_ at all."

He blinked and looked up. The force in Celestia's eyes were enough to make even him cower on the inside. "What do you... What do you mean by that?"

The princess said nothing. She turned away and extending her large wings, preparing for flight. Only then did she turn back to him. "Be wary of what is to come, Yuma Tsukumo." With that, she flew off.

He watched her fly off to the castle, Princess Luna following her. Though he wasn't really paying attention to them. He was more along the lines of thinking what the princess had called him.

_Yuma Tsukumo..._ he thought. _It sounds right._


	2. Astral's Day

**A/N: Remember, if you like this, you'll love Rainstone's "A Game Comes To Equestria"!**

* * *

Astral was bored.

With his 'friend' (he wasn't so sure about that) having amnesia and having no contact with him whatsoever, he spent his time thinking. But what else was there to think about? He had already thought of all the scenarios he could think of that would've resulted in this predicament, and now he had literally nothing else to think about or do.

So yes, he was absolutely bored.

At least he could be able to observe his companion's behaviors in this new place. Though today, it seemed like that wouldn't happen. Yuma had been invited into the guest room of the purple mare's library so he'd have a place to stay, and he was still asleep. It was only noon. Ah, some things never change.

To pass the time, Astral decided to have a look around the area. _Ponyville_, he heard some residents call it. As he floated around, observing all of the facilities, he noticed something.

"Observation A," he said, deciding to start a new list of observations now that he was in a different place. "The Golden Key does not limit me to its proximity." Astral had no worries about saying it out loud; no one could hear him anyway.

He decided to start his search around the town at the bakery. Wasn't it called Sweet Vertices? No, Sugarcube Corner. Yes, that sounded about right. Upon entering, he immediately noticed the pink pony that had sung that song baking at lightning speed. A simple blink and she would've already been done with a triple layer chocolate cake.

After what seemed like an hour (when it was really an hour and three minutes), the mare had finally stopped baking. She bounced into another room, and Astral had saw that she was playing with an alligator. This alligator couldn't be any older than a newborn on account of its small stature. In fact, the alligator seemed to be _toothless_.

Deciding that this was enough of these individuals all together, Astral decided to look more around the premises. A quick inspection had the place turn up as a simple home and bakery. He decided that he had enough of this place and left for another place.

His next destination was a boutique. Not just any ordinary boutique, though. This one was ran by the white mare who had so selflessly given up her tail (only for it to be restored later that night). She could've been a threat, but that was unlikely. Still, better to be overly prepared.

He entered the building, and immediately saw pieces of fabric and clothe flying around.

"This won't do!" squealed the pony. A pile full of nearly finished dresses was behind her. "None of these are fabulous enough!" The mare scurried back and forth, picking out random designs and fabrics in an effort to find one that was right. None were.

She stopped in the middle of the room and squealed. She then sighed and slid down to the ground. Then she started... humming? The humming turned into audible words, which had a distinct somber tune.

_"Designs here and deadlines there"_

_"I can't find good ones anywhere"_

_"What am I supposed to do?"_

_"What to do when I can't choose?_

She held out the final note for a good five seconds, and then hung her head down. When she raised it back up, she too stood up and galloped over to the aforementioned pile of fabric pieces.

_"Which would be a perfect fit?_

_"For Fluttershy's birthday gift?"_

She levitated two pieces of fabric and continued singing.

_"Seafoam green, a chartreuse glow"_

_"Pale fuchsia or bright yellow"_

With each line, she levitated two different fabric designs in the rhythm of the song.

_"Espresso brown, maybe black"_

_"Few will work, it's just a fact"_

_"Morning glory, golden sun"_

_"I can't pick a single one!"_

_"Celestia, help me soon"_

_"What to do when I can't choooose"_

It was evident to Astral that this mare was fretting over this 'Fluttershy'. Seeing as how he had no way of helping, he decided to leave this pony alone. But first, was there anything else of interest in this boutique?

A quick search around prove that there was nothing else to see here. He took his leave and headed for another one of the homes of the ponies that had accompanied Yuma.

He soon arrived at the orange pony's home. It seemed to be... a farm? The sign in front of it said 'Sweet Apple Acres'. The name seemed meaningful; the farmland stretched out everywhere. It might have been around fifty acres!

But this was not the time to be in awe. He entered the land and floated around for a good while. At first, there was nothing there but apple trees. He soon saw two ponies near a few trees, with some of the trees around them without any apples.

The orange one was one of them, and she was next to a large red stallion. Considering their similar cutie marks, Astral guessed that they were both siblings.

"Big Mac," said the orange one, "Ah don't think ya should be buckin' trees with that sore hindleg."

The red one, Big Mac, bucked another tree, and all seven apples came off. He winced afterwards, though tried to mask it. "Eenope. Ah need ta do as much as Ah' can, AJ."

"Ah' know... but still."

He bucked another tree. "So, who's the one tha' got that there ticket?"

The orange one looked confused for a second, then realization washed over her face. "Oh! Everypony did, even Spike!"

"How?"

"See, Twi' only had two tickets, but all five of us were being kinda... greedy about gettin' picked. So she sent the tickets back to the Princess, and the Princess sent back _seven_ tickets so all seven o' us could go!"

"That's good." Once more, he bucked a tree, and he winced again, this time not even bothering to hide it.

"Macintosh," said the orange one. "Are ya _sure_ ya don't want any help?"

"Eeyup."

The two continued chatting, and Astral decided to leave. Next on the list was a small cottage on the outskirts of the town. Inside, the first thing he noticed were animals of all varieties. Squirrels, birds, bunnies. He finally spotted the yellow pegasus. She seemed to be trying to feed a white bunny, but the bunny kept on protesting it. When she _finally_ got the right dish, which was the most complicated dish Astral had ever seen, the spoiled bunny dug in. All the other animals were eating their food as well.

The pegasus inhaled and then exhaled. Then she started to sing.

"_Eat up, eat up, everypony everywhere_

_Eat up, eat up, everypony do your share"_

"Observation B," stated Astral. "It is natural for equines to sing in the most mundane tasks." With that, he took his leave and headed for his penultimate destination; a cloud in Ponyville. But it wasn't _just_ a cloud; it seemed to be where the blue pegasus lived when she didn't want to return to her actual home.

It took little time to arrive, and all he saw was her sleeping. Of course, he wasn't just going to stay there. He traveled to his final destination; the library where they had so generously allowed Yuma to stay.

On arrival, he noticed a small reptilian creature sorting out books on one of the higher shelves. Astral then realized he knew nothing of this building besides the guest room Yuma was in (and it appeared that he was _still_ asleep). He searched around a bit more until he saw the purple unicorn that ran the library. She was sitting in front of a desk with tons of papers sprawled out in front of her, as if she was trying to solve something. He kept on watching what she was doing until she abruptly stopped.

"...Who's there?" She turned around, but she didn't see Astral. She kept on looking all around the room.

Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, Astral left and sat outside of the library and started to think.

_The purple unicorn could sense my presence, but she could not see me. How could that be, when the other equines couldn't? Is it... Is it because of her power? She was the sixth element, if I recall correctly, one that was superior over the rest. And what about Yuma? If he could hear my voice back in that forest, could he be more powerful than the mare?_

He looked up at the sky. Who else had Yuma interacted with when he came here? The answer came to him as soon as he finished that thought. The Princess! He remembered distinctly that she knew Yuma's name, even when _he_ didn't know it. If anyone knew anything, it was that alicorn.

Astral flew off, hoping he had remembered the path to the city that the Princess resided in. It took probably an hour and the sun had already set, but soon, he arrived in the familiar territory, since he remembered the events of the party from the night before took place in that place. Soon, he saw a large castle. There was no mistaking it; this was a castle befitting of a princess.

He entered the building from the top, since that would be a good guess as to where a princess would reside. He was right; the large room he was in had an unmistakable white alicorn sitting on a rug, reading a book. This was Princess Celestia.

She looked up and said two words that startled him. "Hello there."

Astral blinked. "You can... see me?"

She nodded and closed her book. "I've known your presence since I was rescued by the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." She stood up. "Now tell me; are you a threat, or are you a friend? That goes for your acquaintance Yuma as well."

He was slightly taken aback by such a blunt question, but he answered nonetheless. "Both Yuma and I are friends, as long as _you_ are not a threat."

That made Celestia chuckle. "I'm a Princess that has ruled over Equestria for over a thousand years with little to no protest from my citizens. How would that make me a threat?"

"Forgive me, but I can never be too careful."

She nodded. "Likewise." She walked over to one of her bookcases and started searching around. "So I suppose you have some questions?"

"Of course. For one, how is it that you are able to perceive me when almost no one else can?"

She stopped searching and levitated a black hardcover book from the case, and she turned to Astral. "I have extraordinary powers, Astral. One of them allows me to see things from a different plane of existence, ergo, ghosts and such."

He nodded and continued. "How is it that you know both my name as well as Yuma's?"

"That's bad?"

"If Yuma doesn't recall his name, I don't suppose anyone could."

She set the book down in front of Astral, who floated down to see it. The title, which was in plain white, said 'Spiritual Prophecies'. "I think this book will be able to shed some light on your predicament."

"Yuma and I were prophesied to be here?" he asked.

Celestia giggled. "Oh, most prophecies aren't actually true. Only around ten percent are. But..." she sighed. "We have _so many _of them that ten percent seems more like eighty percent."

"And... you just happened to read up on this particular prophecy?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Celestia finally opened the book and flipped through many pages. As she was doing so, she answered his question. "These have dates marked on them, and they're usually accurate if they're real prophecies. The one concerning you two was one of the few that was scheduled to happen this year, on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, which was yesterday."

"...which was when Yuma and I arrived. This still doesn't explain why Yuma doesn't remember anything and why he was transformed into a pony."

The Princess stopped flipping pages. "Maybe it does. Read for yourself." She turned the book so Astral could read it.

_'It is said that on the night of the one thousandth anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration, two spirits will arrive in this world. Their dependence on each other will no longer be until they can both overcome their hurdles. Simultaneously, they will be able to return back to their home world once they do.'_

He looked up at the Princess. "What does this mean?"

"You tell me."

He looked back down at the book again. "According to this book, Yuma and I are independent now, so to regain dependence..."

"Go on," she urged.

"We must overcome the obstacles that are presented to us." The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. "Of course!"

Celestia gave a sly smile. "And these obstacles are...?"

"Right now, I'm not limited to the vicinity of Yuma's Golden Key, so I am able to roam freely. Yuma, on the other hand, cannot contact me, and now he isn't dependent on me. Though I suppose you already knew that?"

Instead of giggling, Celestia gave a hearty laugh that took around ten seconds to diminish. "Oh, there's no use hiding it from a spirit like you. Ah ha... Anyway, I did a bit more research and soon found out the names of both of you. That solves the question of how I know your names, at any rate. Now then, do you have any more questions?"

"Ah, yes. A few more, if you will. The night before, when Yuma and I arrived, I'm certain that he was able to hear what I said. However, it was only one line that I said; anything else wouldn't reach him. And your student— Twilight, was it? —could acknowledge my presence, but she could not _see_ me."

"Twilight has always been a bright mare," she said, closing the book and heading to the bookcase to put it back. "She one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria; I'm not the least surprised that she's starting to perceive spirits. As for your friend..." She put the book away and walked back to Astral. "I can tell you and him have a strong bond."

"You would be surprised at how little Yuma shows it," he added.

"Still, if he was able to see you before all of this, then he's likely to still has slight contact with you. Though, if you want to return back to where you both came from, you know what to do."

"Yes," he concurred. "I suppose I should take my leave now."

"Take care. Oh, one other thing. If I ever need to talk to you again, I'll send Twilight a letter telling Spike to come to Canterlot. That's a cue to follow him."

"I see. And this Spike... He is the reptilian I saw earlier?"

She nodded. "Yes; he's the purple and green dragon that's usually around the library."

"Very well then. Farewell." He waved goodbye and floated out of the castle and back to Ponyville. Still, throughout the entire flight, he still had one thing on his mind, and that was if the 'prophecy' was possible at all.

He had a feeling it could be.

* * *

**A/N: For Rarity's song, er... Have you seen Family Guy? That cash cow franchise that should really be over by now? There's this one song in one of the Chirstmas specials that's more along the lines of "That's All I Really Want For Christmas This Year". Rarity's song has the same rhythm of that. Fluttershy's song should really be obvious.**

**Hey, there's always at least one song in most episodes, it's expected that they sing off screen too!**


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